SFSU President Robert Corrigan to retire at end of the school year

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A desire to return to the “scholarly life” prompted Robert Corrigan’s decision to retire as San Francisco State University president, effective at the end of the school year, he told faculty Monday.

“I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to return to live what I have called the life of the mind while the mind is still agile and the body still sound,” said Corrigan, who also is an English professor at the school. “This was not an easy decision to make. I love this university and take great pride in all we have been able to accomplish together.”

Corrigan, who has headed the 30,000-student campus since 1988, announced his retirement at the annual opening faculty meeting, SFSU spokeswoman Ellen Griffin said.

Corrigan did not say what he planned to do after stepping down.

His tenure as president has been one of the longest in the university’s 112-year history. Corrigan oversaw an expansion of the university’s campus and an increase in the number of female and minority faculty. To cope with shortfalls in state funding, he worked to raise money from the private sector, and the university’s endowment has ballooned since he took the helm.

California State University Chancellor Charles Reed will need to assemble a search committee of trustees to find Corrigan’s replacement, said CSU spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp. A panel made up of SFSU faculty, students and alumni will advise the trustees. The process usually takes two to six months, Uhlenkamp said.